


Divenire

by ashinan



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Kissing in the Rain, M/M, This is just self-indulgent fluff okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-19 06:37:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9422774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashinan/pseuds/ashinan
Summary: It's been years since Shiro has felt the rain. Keith fixes that for him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was partially inspired by [this beautiful artwork](http://lenomurasan.tumblr.com/post/155843147735/) and I just love it so much. If you're looking for a song while reading this fic, check out [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qvglWAHDak)! Enjoy the softness and the rain!

There were small moments that Shiro couldn’t remember anymore: how the wind tugged at his hair, how the rain soaked through his clothes, how the grass tickled his heels. Each memory was fuzzy, marred by purple scars that dug deeper than he cared to admit. The first brush of light against his face back on Earth had been a miracle.

Space was cold in its own way, unforgiving in others. Whenever they went planetside, Shiro always breathed a little easier, a little lighter. The planet they’d touched down on had been populated by a water dwelling species, though they had adapted to breathing air just as well. The Paladins had been offered every comfort while negotiations were made, while Allura was called into meetings that lasted hours, but were going well. It didn’t take long for the team to split up, to go traipsing off on sightseeing tours.

Shiro took advantage of the large room he’d been gifted, with vaulted ceilings that reached tall and a mesh work of lights hanging from above. Sea glass floors leached the heat from the room, leaving it cool and clear. Stained glass windows led to a balcony with barnacle-covered railings and a view of the entire city, a glowing jewel of prosperity that was partially submerged. The curtains were drawn to keep the cool air in place, heavy velvet that blocked the sun and gave the room a cozy, safe atmosphere.

Easily Shiro’s favourite part of the room was the bed: when he sat down, it wobbled beneath his weight, the unmistakable slosh of displaced water causing him to fall back. A water bed. He had a _water bed_. He hadn’t been on a water bed in years.

Flopping backwards, he snickered as it roiled under his weight, a delicate swish that settled the anxiety twisting in his gut. Beautiful planet, beautiful room, beautiful people. He relaxed, shoulders loosening just an inch. The silence was heavenly, though it carried darker truths he’d rather not deal with. Staring up at the light-pocked ceiling, Shiro allowed his thoughts to wander to his teammates, to their exuberance at being well received.

Before gentle notions and gentler rocking could put him to sleep, there was a knock at the door. Shiro fought to get out of the bed, laughing breathlessly when he finally stood. The bed sloshed behind him, a reminder, and Shiro scrubbed his human hand through his hair as he opened the door.

Keith pulled his hands from his pockets, glancing down the hallway before returning his attention to Shiro. “Hey. How are you holding up?”

“Fine?” Shiro gestured for Keith to come in, but he stayed on the other side. “Keith?”

“Come with me.”

Before Shiro could respond, Keith hooked his fingers around Shiro’s wrist and tugged. Shiro wasn’t averse to following and he didn’t bother inquiring right in that instant: Keith’s urgency wasn’t tilted toward a problem. They hurried through the halls, bypassing people milling about between pillars and waterfalls. An assortment of colourful aliens were talking avidly with Pidge as they blew by, Hunk and Lance not far but talking quietly with their heads ducked together. Lance waved a salute and Hunk grinned wide. Shiro smiled helplessly back and allowed Keith to drag him to areas unknown.

When they turned down a hall far from the hectic energy of the central area, Keith slowed. Two hallways branched off from where they were: one area was wall-to-wall windows, thick curtains pulled tight to keep the sun away. The other led in a roundabout back to the center of the building, the lights a glowing pathway. Shiro carefully shifted his hold until his fingers were pressed against Keith’s palm, a question. Keith squeezed back and smiled.

Shiro glanced around. “Where are we?”

“On the outskirts of the castle.”

“What are we doing here?”

Keith ducked his head, gaze darting along the empty hallways before he tugged Shiro into following again. “You’ll see. Trust me.”

“Of course,” Shiro said quietly, quickly, a warmth trapped behind his breastbone at Keith’s sharp inhale. Keith’s smile bloomed larger, lit up his eyes and cast pink over his nose. Shiro followed.

They made their way down the windowed hallway, the curtains repelling the warmth of the sun and algae lanterns casting everything in a soft blue glow. Keith paused a few more times, eyebrows furrowed as he picked routes and tugged Shiro along. Keith’s hold had migrated from Shiro’s wrist to his palm to a firm hold on his fingers, tangled together and warm. Shiro squeezed Keith’s hand and Keith’s smile flashed once more.

Double doors ended the hallway, made of shimmering glass and thick barnacles. Keith turned, carefully disentangling their fingers. “We’re here.”

Shiro curled his fingers against his palm, retaining the warmth of Keith’s touch. He glanced around. They were a ways away from their rooms, even further from the negotiating chambers. What had Keith found? “Here is?”

“Close your eyes,” Keith said, hands firmly behind him on the doors. Shiro blinked before his eyes slid closed, chin tilting up as he squinted through his lashes. Keith laughed. “Shiro, come on.”

“Your surprises are always terrible,” Shiro pointed out, but he closed his eyes fully. Keith laughed again, a quick bark of sound, before the door scraped over marble. Hands reached and tangled with Shiro’s own, palm against palm, fingers sliding neatly into place. Keith was so warm.

Slowly, Keith led Shiro forward. Each step was an uncertainty, but his trust in Keith washed away the anxiety pulling at his stomach. A gentle patter began all around him, a familiar sound that tugged at the tattered remnants of his memories. The air weighed against his skin, sticky with humidity and a swell of moisture. Heavy splashes struck the ground. Shiro’s eyelids fluttered. A memory. A remembrance. Keith led him forward. Shiro held his breath.

The first splash shouldn’t have been a surprise. The second and third ripped a gasp from him. Keith’s fingers tightened, his warmth grounding as he kept tugging Shiro forward. Blindly, Shiro followed, until Keith forced him to a halt.

“Open your eyes.”

Shiro blinked against the blur, startling as more drops streaked over his cheeks and caught on the fanned edge of his eyelashes. He was under an alcove. When his vision cleared, Keith stood before him. Haloed by a curtain of rain, Keith was soaked right through, hair curling and droplets smeared like jewels over his cheeks. His coat dripped with water, shirt beneath clinging to his stomach. His smile was a wide bloom in the haze, eyes crinkling up in excitement and clear nervousness. Shiro sucked in a breath. Keith tugged on his hands, wet palm against dry, and Shiro stepped into the rain.

The rain sluiced down and over Shiro’s hair, drenching him immediately. A bark of laughter tore through him, surprise spiraling up from his stomach. He bowed forward. Keith tightened his hold. Water thickened in rivulets over Shiro’s cheeks, catching in the corners of his mouth and slip-sliding down the arch of his nose. Rain. It was _rain_. He was standing in the rain.

Another miracle, with Keith’s fingers tight against the pulse in his wrist.

Shiro glanced up, his fringe dripping into his eyes, and Keith grinned wider, brighter, lovingly painted in watercolour. Shiro’s vest was heavy with water, with _rain_. He laughed, couldn’t help it, the sheer delight overwhelming him. Rain fell and Shiro stood amidst it, Keith by his side grounding him.

Keith tugged. Shiro followed.

Walking backward, Keith led Shiro to the railing while the rain swelled. The sky tumbled above them, purple clouds deepening into shades of black and thick silver. Pausing just before the railing itself, Keith pulled until Shiro was nearly caging him in, their hands tangled but by their sides. Keith leaned his head back, eyes closed. His expression softened, rain flirting with his lips and running down the exposed line of his throat. Shiro blinked the rainwater from his gaze, fingers tightening against Keith’s own, and Keith dropped his head back down. His eyes shone, features smudged and open. His smile was tremulous and Shiro swayed forward.

“I wanted to show you the rain again,” Keith said, a whisper nearly lost in the swell of the storm. “I wanted to give you that.”

Shiro’s chest twisted, a quick pang that trembled down into his fingers. Keith curled in tighter, drew them closer until all Shiro had was Keith’s warmth along his front and the cold rain at his back. The air thickened. Shiro sucked in a breath when Keith smiled up at him. There was nothing he could think to say, no niceties to truly encapsulate the emotions running rampant through his mind. The rain blanketed them, smeared the edges of reality into a cocoon of their own making. No war to fight. No Lions to worry over. No one else but the two of them, lost in the rain.

“Thank you,” Shiro said, ducking his head closer. His thumb caught an errant drop on Keith’s knuckle. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I can’t control the weather,” Keith said, chin tilted up, his smile a slash of light in the dark.

Shiro laughed, a helpless punch of sound. The rain brushed against the line of his jaw, down and into the jut of his clavicle, soaking him right through. The last time the rain had been this thick was back on Earth, before the Garrison, before any of this. A slap of storm clouds, roiling thunder, the quicksilver flash of lightning. Rain pouring until Shiro, smeared and small, awoke refreshed and alive. The rain calmed the rapid staccato of his heart. Keith’s gaze reignited it.

“I haven’t been out in the rain in a long time.”

Keith nodded, a quick tilt of his head. His bangs curled around his eyes, rainwater collecting in the delicate upturn of his mouth. “I know. That’s what happens when you go to school in a desert.”

“You’re quippy today,” Shiro said fondly. His head dipped down, forehead delicately touching against Keith’s own. Keith hummed, nudging up closer as his eyes closed. Rain drummed around them, the storm a quiet echo in the distance. Shiro’s gaze flicked over Keith’s face, calm serenity and gentle reverence. The warmth in his chest expanded out, filled him with certainty. Carefully, Shiro disentangled one of his hands, fingers brushing against the sharp edge of Keith’s jaw, the watery shadow of his neck, the frantic pulse at the base of his throat. Keith’s eyes flickered open and glanced up. Shiro smiled.

“You’re beautiful.”

Keith sputtered, his forehead bumping closer to Shiro’s, before he settled on an embarrassed exhale. “You can’t just say stuff like that.”

“It’s the rain,” Shiro said, grin widening, warm glow expanding. He nudged their noses together. “Makes me sappy.”

Keith opened his mouth but slowly closed it instead of speaking. He was blurry this close up, rainwater and lack of distance painting him in nebulous detail, and Shiro rubbed his thumb over the warm blush along Keith’s cheekbone. Keith sucked in a breath. His gaze dipped down. Shiro waited.

As with everything, Keith reacted first. He bumped their foreheads closer, angled his nose to slide along Shiro’s, and gently touched their lips together.

Shiro inhaled, a quick, pleased surprise working through his stomach. Keith caught his collar, tugged him closer, sighing into the kiss when Shiro responded. A shiver crawled up Shiro’s spine as Keith freed his other hand to tighten his hold, arm sliding around Shiro’s back and pressing five warm fingers against Shiro’s shoulder blades. Shiro kissed the corner of Keith’s mouth, the bow of his bottom lip, the smile unfurling in increments beneath Shiro’s touch. The rain tinged the kiss with salt. When he finally deepened the kiss, Keith tugged him in closer with a hurt noise, lining them up from thigh to shoulder.

There was no hurry behind the kiss, nothing but a low hum of desire that ached at the center of Shiro’s chest and expanded outward. Keith tilted his head, mouth parting, and Shiro gently ran his teeth over the swell of Keith’s lip. Another noise, almost indignant, and Shiro laughed when Keith nipped him back. They played through their kisses, an exchange of reciprocity that twisted the warmth in Shiro’s stomach into something hotter.

It was Keith that gentled the kiss, returned it to something safer and warmer, a soothing balm that calmed the urgency in Shiro’s stomach. Their foreheads slipped together again as Shiro finally pulled back. Keith’s eyes remained closed, lips parted and upturned at the corners. It would take nothing to reignite the kiss, to pull Keith closer until they were warmth and rain and starlight, wrapped tight and wanting. Shiro slid a knuckle over Keith’s cheek. Keith tilted into it, lashes wet with water, smile growing larger as they stood.

“You were right. Sappy,” Keith said softly, finally opening his eyes. His gaze was wide open and vulnerable, a hand outstretched. Shiro ducked their heads together once more. Keith smiled all through the kiss, bright laughter vibrating against Shiro’s mouth, and Shiro in turn kissed him quiet. The storm evened out above them, the rain turning soft instead of torrential. When they parted once more, Keith didn’t allow him a recovery, just darted back in for another kiss, another and another, quick and teasing. Shiro tightened his arm around Keith’s waist and Keith spread his fingers wide between Shiro’s shoulder blades.

The rain fell.

**Author's Note:**

> Come follow me [on tumblr](http://ashinan.tumblr.com) where I've been crying over season 2 and kind of losing my mind over Sheith.


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